Quick coupler for tubing



oche, 1942. G, E, FRANCK 2,298,111

QUICK COUPLER FOR TUBING Filed sept; 1a, 1940 INVENTOR.

` AWORNEYS Patented Oct. 6, 1942 QUICK coUPLER Fon TUBING. George E. Franck, Riverside, Ill., assignor to The Imperial Brass Manufacturing Company, Chi.- cago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application September I8,- 1940, Serial No. .357,261

2 Claims.

My invention relates to quick couplers used for making temporary connections of copper or flexible tubing to compressorfittings, tubing lines, valves and the like, through which gas under a relatively high pressure is passed.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improved quick coupler device which can be manually attached to a tting without the use of a wrench or other .tool and screwed tightly enough so that there will be no leak of gas at the temporary ttingeven though the gas passing within .is at a relatively high pressure.

Another object'of my invention is to provide a. new4 and improved quick coupler which can be threaded upon a fitting by pressure applied only by means of the hand and which contains a sealing element which fits snugly and tightly over the end of the tting, thereby preventing any leak of gas outwardly at the coupler joint.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved quick coupler for tubing which is equipped to be fastened permanently t the end of a fluid line which may be copper or flexible tubing and which has at the other end a coupler element including a resilient sealing device permanently attached to the body of the quick coupier itself but which can be manipulated so that the,` sealing device can be ejected for ready removal and replacement after it becomes worn.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangemy device whereby the objects contemplated are attained,'as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in myr claims and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawingpin which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of my device showing itattached at one end to a tubing line and at the other end to a fitting.

Figure 2 is a sectional view drawn to a larger scale.

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the end ofY the coupler element,which is attached to the fitting.

Figure 4 is a cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

In the past couplers have been used .for temporarily attaching a liquid line to a fitting and have found rather wide use in the refrigeration industry where it is common practice to temporarily connect a tubing line from a gas cylinder to a fitting on a compressor for either feeding gas into the refrigeration system or ocllecting gas from it.

It is of course necessary even in a temporary ment and combination of. the various parts of Cal coupling to make the connection so tight that refrigeration gases which 'are often highly volatile and kept under a considerably high pressure may not leak at the temporary joint.` In order to accomplish thisit'has been the practice in the past to make up .the joint by using a wrench or othergtool in order to seat thc coupler very tightly. upon`the fitting. Making up a joint in .this manner takes more time than should'be necessary land frequently results in thev operator" making" too.tight a joint so that the parts of both the coupler and the tting wear out rapidly.

In my device the quickoupler shown after once being attached V.to a tubing .line is manipl ulated entirely by handand is provided with only one part which is subjected `to wear, this part being a resilient element which can'be quickly and readily extracted and replacedfwhenever a change should become necessary. Y-

As shown on thedrawing my quick coupler device comprises a body I0 which may have a threaded end l2 designed to be engaged by a nut I4 of the type commonly known as an S. A. E." flared tting. y

In the particular embodiment shown the fitting is used to connect a length of copper tub' ing I6 to the coupler device by means of a flare I8 formed in the tubing but it is contemplated i that other kinds of tubing might be usedA effectively. p

The body is likewise provided with a hexagonal wrench engaging` portion which is used when the tubing is connected to the coupler device. Within the body is a passage 22 to permit the now of uid through the coupler device.

A shank 24 forms the other end of the body and upon the shank is mounted a coupler element 2B. The coupler element has a recess 28 partially threaded as at so that it can be screwed over a tting 32. The couplei` element itself is provided with a knurled or ilutedA hand Vhold 34 at thev outermost circumberence to supply a firm non-slipping grip when the operator attaches the coupler to the tting.

The shank 24 extends through a passage 36 in the coupler element. At a point adjacent the end. inside the'coupler element, there is provided an annular recess 38 in the outer circumference of the shank. A split ring 40 is shown .1, positioned in the annular recess protruding be.' y'ond the circumference of the outer wall Aoi i the shank and designed to engage a shoulder 42 within the coupler element formed at the junction of the passage 36 with the recess 28.

Likewise at the free end of the shank and within the recess 28 there is a reduced portion v 44 which forms a shoulder 46 adjacent the annular recess. An annular ring 48 of -rubber or similar material capable of withstanding the action of fluids with which the coupler may be.

used is positioned around the reduced portion and fitted between a wall of the reduced portion and the surrounding wall of the aperture 28.

It will be noted that the resilient ring protrudes beyond the end of the shank 24 for some distance. It will further be noted that the resilient ring abuts the shoulder 46 and is thereby prevented'from being driven any farther into the aperture 28 than is permitted by the position of the shoulder.

therein loosely1 surrounding the extension near In assembling the device the shank 24 is first inserted into the passage 36 so that the end extends beyond a bottom end 50 of the coupler element 26. The split ring 4|] is then snapped into place which prevents any separation of the parts. Next the annular ring 48 is positioned around the reduced portion 44 as shown in Figure 3 and then pressedv into the recess 28 to the position substantially as shown in Figure 2; This is the normal position of the parts of the quick coupler device.

Next, the, tubing line I6 is attached to the right hand end of the coupler device as viewed in Figures 1 4and 2 by some suitable means such as the S. A. E. nut shown in the drawing.

-When it is desired to attach the quick coupler device to a fitting it is only necessary to threadably engage the coupler element 26 over a fitting having corresponding threads and screw it up snugly by hand until the end of the iitting presses against the annular ring forming a sealed contact 52 therebetween. Y

Since the annular ring is of a resilient material and is at the same time confined by the walls of the recess 28, no undue expansion of it is permitted but due to its resilient character it forms a tight seal at the end of the fitting when toward the wrench engaging portion by whichV action the reduced end of Athe shank is extended out of the aperture 28 exposing the resilient annular ring. It then becomes a simple matter toremove the ring and replace it with a new one after which parts are pushed back into place in the recess the same as when the coupling device was originally assembled. No other disassembly of the device is necessary since the the end, said coupler element having an aperture larger in diameter than the passage forming a shoulder therebetween and threaded at the outer end for engagement with a conventional flared iitting, said extension having an outwardly extending anchoring element thereon engaging said shoulder forming a swivel connection and an annular recess extending inwardly from the end forming an annular pocket between itself and the aperture wall, substantiallyclosed at one end and open at the other end, and a removable annular collar of resilient material having a sliding fit on the recessed portion of the extension with one end seated in the closed y lend of the pocket and the other end extending for a substantial portion of its length beyond the open end of said pocket, said collar being flared complementarily to the conventional ared fitting and initially snugly filling said pocket providing frictional resistance to sliding of the coupler element along the extension and in coupled relation being in engagement around the flare of said conventional iitting and under pressure longitudinally and outwardly for sealingV said coupling' against leakage of fluid from within the tube.

2. Ina quick temporary coupler for attachventional iliared fitting, said extension having an outwardly extending anchoring element thereon engaging said shoulder forming a swivel connection and a removable annular collar of resilient material having a sliding lit on the end of said extension with one end thereof bearing longitudinally against a portion of the extension I and the other end extending beyond the extension for a substantial portion of its length, said collar having an inside diameter at the free end larger than the outside diameter of the small end of said conventional flared iitting, said collar being initially snugly positioned between the extension and surrounding aperture wall providing a frictional resistance to sliding the coupler element along the extension and said collar during the making up and completion of the coupling being engaged around th'e flare of said conventional fitting and under substantially longitudinaland radial compression for sealing the 1collipling against leakage of iluid from within the GEORGE E. FRANCK. 

